Gig City
Chattanooga’s not going to replace Silicon Valley anytime soon, but the city built the nation’s first gigabit-per-second fiber optic network—even if that service does cost more than $300 a month.
Now, the Lamp Post Group, a “venture incubator” backing a program dubbed “Gig Tank”, is offering $300,000 in start-up cash and prizes to entrepreneurs and students to design high-speed apps and business using the network.
The Tank will fund 10 teams with $15,000. The team with the best idea at the end of the program earns the top prize of $100,000. Ten-to-15 students will also compete for a $50,000 prize, but will receive no start-up funding. The Gig Tank is also offering a $1,000 finder’s fee to anyone who nominates a candidate who is chosen for the program. For more information, visit thegigcity.com.